Land-leveler.



J. M. ROBERTS. LAND LEVELER.

APPLICATION FILED 00123, 1912.

1,073,287. Patented Sept. 16,1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

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Wzfieases km? @2 0: IQZNW. Jesse Martin Roberts COLUMBIA PumOflRAPl-l06., WASHINGTON, D. c.

J. M. ROBERTS.

LAND LEVELER.

APPLICATION FILED 00123, 1912.

Patented Sept. 16, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1 [771 677/57: Jesse Martin Roberts couumm PLANOGYHAPII cu. WASHINGTON.u, c.

J. M. ROBERTS.

LAND LEVELER.

APPLICATION FILED 0013.23, 1912.

Patented Sept. 16, 1913.

a SHEETS-SHEET 3.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO.,\\'ASH1NGTON. [L c.

JESSE IEARTIN BQBERTS, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

LAND-LEVELER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 16, 1913.

- 'Applicationfi1edOc-tober23, 1912. Serial No. 727,286.

To all whom it may comm;

Be it, known thatQI, Jnsfsn MAR IN Roisian'raa cit zen of the UnitedStates, residing atLos Angelesr in. the county 'ofLos rrngeles and Stateof California, have in vented certain"new and. useful Improvements inLand Levelers;and I do declare the following to be afnll, clear, andexact description of theinvehtiom-such as will enable others skilled inthe art to which 'it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to excavati11g,and more especially'to scrapersand the object of the same is to producea land leveler which includes apair of blades or scrapers carried by a framework supported in suchmanner that the driver may cause i the scrapers to rise by automaticsupport of wheels and pass over the borders n leveling alfalfa or grainland in preparation for irrigation. This object is carried out by thespecial construction hereinafter more fully described and claimed, andshown in the drawings wherein.

Figure 1 is a plan viewof thismachine complete, Fig. 2 a rearelevationthereof and Fig. 3 a side view thereof. Fig. dis an enlarged plan viewof one front corner of the framework, illustrating the wheels at oneside of the machine; and Fig. 5 is sectional detail of the foot leverfor tripping said wheels, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. at. Fig. 6 is asection on the linelF-(i of Fig. l, Fig. 7 a similar section with theparts in slightly different position, and Fig. 7 is a detail which willbe referred to hereinafter. Fig. 8 is a plan view of a part of themachine, and Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are sectional views on the lines 9,10-1O and 11-11 thereof.

Y The framework of this machine which may well be made of wooden membersconnected by bolts or otherwise, includes a main or front scraper 1which I have heretofore made of a 2x12 timber twelve feet long standingon edge and faced with metal, a rear scraper 2 which may well be atimber of the same dimension but somewhat shorter and which I prefer todispose about six feet in rear of the front scraper, a pair of beamsconnecting said scrapers at the transverse center 01 the machine andwhich I will call the central sills 3, other longitudinal beamsconnecting said scrapers at points near the sides of the machine andwhich I will call the side sills 4.- and a pair of beams 5 ant 5extending to the rear from each end of the front scraper 1 outside thewings yet to be described, the outer beams form the sills for therunners----the extremities of the rear scraper being connected with theinner beam 5 of each ofthese pairs. Beam 5 is made of 2"X6" and 5 of2"X12 timbers. The main framework is shown in Fig. 1 as having a deck orplatform 6 on which the operator stands (or may be seated), and thisplatform may be elaborated or reduced al though I would prefer that thestructure be as open as possible in order that the operator may observewhat is taking place. The parts of this framework will be suitablybraced by means not necessary to amplify, and the proportionshereinbefore given are only suggestive. By preference I extend eye-bolts7 longitudinally through the framework at proper points, not only forstrengthening the same but because the eyes 8 may be caused to stand atthe front as shown in Fig. 1 and will serve as means for attaching thedraft, whatever the latter may be. A machine of approximately thedimensions given could be drawn over the plowed ground by eight horsesunless the ground, were exceedingly rough, but it clear that withrougher ground or a larger machine more horses must be employed or otherand stronger power. It is intended that the machine shall move straightto the right as seen from above in Fig. 1, the front face of its mainscraper 1 doing the bulk of the work. But in leveling alfalfa or grainland in preparation for irrigation it is desirable to go crosswise withthe borders so that the dirt may be brought from the centers of thelands to level up the low places along the border; itthen becomesdesirable to drop the dirt on the borders while leveling the landbetween them, and it is then desirable that the machine shall be liftedcompletely over a border without destroying the same, and thesepossibilities my leveler possesses. While ordinarily and usually ittravels with the lower edges of its scrapers in contact with the ground,1t has lifting mechanism duplicated within the beams 5 and 5 as will nowbe described.

Each runner (see Sheet 2 of the drawings) has journaled between itsbeams 5 and beams 5 front and rear wheels 10 and 11, and in the machineI have constructed each wheel is of sixteen inch radius hung on an axisabout two inches to the rear of the center and a fraction of an inchtoward itsflat or mutilated surface 12'; and each wheel has on itsperiphery a spur 13 at the end of its medium radius, a stop 14 at itslongest radius slightly in rear of the spur, and a pair of laterallyprojecting hooks 15 between said spur and stop and standing wlthin itsperipheral line. Pivoted at 16 on the framework is a lock lever 17 whoseouter end stands beneath the stop 14 to hold the wheel at rest when theflat side 12 of the wheel is beneath as seen in Fig. 7, and the innerends of the two levers 17 are connected by a rod 18 with a foot lever 19(see Fig. 5) which may be actuated by bearing downward on its foot pieceor pedal but which is normally thrown forward by means of a spring 20 sothat the outer ends of the two lock levers are caused to engage thestops 14 of the two front wheels 10. Normally the flat surfaces 12 ofboth wheels is carried about two inches above the ground between the twobeams 5 and 5, but when it is desired to have the front end of themachine and the forward scraper 1 rise so that they may pass over aborder the operator depresses the pedal 19 and moves the lock levers 17to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, when the front wheels10 tip downward until their spurs 13 engage the earth so that they arecaused positively to start on their rotation as indicated by the dottedlines in Fig. 7. A similar lock 27 engages the stop 14 of the rear wheel11, but this look is moved forward along the upper edges of the beams 5and 5 by a trip lever 21 pivoted at 22 in a standard 23 rising from thebeams 5 and 5 its rear end being connected at 24 with said lock 27, andits side bars 25 passing astride the front wheel 10 above its hub andaround in front of it as at 26 where it overlies the lock lever 17; andas the front wheel rotates to the first dotted position shown in Fig. 7,the hooks 15 engage the side bars of the trip lever 21 so that its frontend 26 is raised and its rear end at the point 24 draws the lock 27forward. This re leases the stop 14 of the rear wheel 11 and the lattermay then make a similar revolution excepting of course that it is timedto follow the revolution made by the front wheel. It is to be understoodthat the other pair of wheels at the opposite side of the machine aremoving in synchronism with the pair we are discussing. It follows thatwhen the operator has depressed thep'edal 19 and trip mechanism, therevolution of the front wheels 10 first lifts the'front end of themachine tothe first dotted position and eventually to the highest dottedposition in Fig; 7, and as the machine moves forward it may pass over aborder; then the trip levers release the rear wheels, and in theirrevolution they lift the rear end of themachine as seen in Fig. 6 whilethe forward wheels are permitting the front end of the machine to dropagain into. contact with.

the eartln'andthereby the rear end of the machine passes over the borderand the latter is left uninjured, both wheels coming to rest with theirstops 14 upon their locks 17 and 2'? so. that the scraping canproceeduninterruptedly until the operator again de-' presses the pedal19..

For confining the earth which accumulates in front of the forwardscraper 1 so' as to prevent itfrom slipping of the extremities thereof,I provide each end of the machine with a knife or blade 30 slidablymountedunder a guide 31 against the outside of the outermost beam 5, andwhen projected forward this knife serves also to straighten theedge ofany border or to out off surplus dirt, carry it forward, and distributeit evenly over the land" in front. When the knife is not desired it maybe retracted by means of a hand lever 32 having a proper latch movingover a toothed segment 33, the lower end ofthis lever being connected bya rod 34 with the knife or blade 80. The forward progress of the machinethus causes the front scraper 1 to cut off the high spots in the landand the earth thus gathered is carried along with the maj j chine untilit passes over the low which the accumulations fall in which will beclear. Of course machine is caused topass over a border in the mannerabove described, it leaves its accumulations on the near side ofthe'bor. der because the front scraper rises from-behind suchaccumulations. At all times, however, the rear scraper follows the frontone and supplements and completes its work, and for the purpose ofconfining the accumulations so that they will not be dissispots into amanner pated laterally I provide wings which will now be described.

Each wlng is by preference made of 2X12 inch lumber standing on edge,and approximates fourteen feet in length, its body 40 in rear of therear scraper. trails or drags when the normally over the surface oftheearth,-but V the lower half of its front end 41 is cut away as seen inFig. 11 so thatthe extremity 42 of the rear scraper (which in turn iscut away at its upper half) may pass beneath it as shown in Figs. 9 and11; and the front extremity of the wing ishinged at 43 to the frontscraper 1. Rising from the end of the rear scraper is an open guide a4:within which at 45 is pivoted a latch 46 which overlies the upper edgeof the wing, and the inner end of said latch when depressed falls behinda locks? pivoted at 48 within a standard rising from said scraper. 'Thelock may well be of the configuration illustrated in Fig. 10, so thatits weight normally throws its nose over the tip of the latch, and it iswithdrawn from locking position by means of a chain or linked connection49 between it and a rod 50, the forward end of the latter beingconnected through a rock lever 51 pivoted at- 52 on the framework orplatform, with a foot lever or pedal 53 which underlies the pedal 19 asbest seen in Fig. 1. hen the pedal 53 is depressed the looks at? areswung forward so as to free the latches 46 andthe two wings 40 may risearound their hinges 48 when the wings descend the latches turn on theirpivots 45 and theirtips automatically engage beneath the locks 47. Whenthe pedal 19 is depressed to actuate the lifting mechanism in the mannerabove described, it depresses the pedal 53 and unlocks the latches 46 inthe same manner, and this is necessary because in the movements of themain frame indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 7 it is desirable thatt-he'frame shall rise at its front end around the point 5 rather thanaround the rear extremities of-the wings, and it is also desirable whenthe frame assumes the position shown. in Fig. 6 that the wings shallrise so as to be lifted over the border.

For lifting the rear ends ofthe wings at times when the main frameworkis not passing over a border or other elevation, I provide the mechanismbest seen in Fig. 2. This consists of a hand lever 54 having a catchmoving over a toothed segment as usual,

and this lever connected by'links 55 with two rock levers 56 centrallypivoted in suitable supports on the framework, and each having ,itsouter end 57 passed through a hole in or otherwise engagedwith the body40 of the wing at a point somewhatin rear of the rear scraper 2. Byproperly manipulating the lever 54, the rock levers are turned on theirpivots and their outer ends 57 raised; and this movement raises thewingsa0 irrespective of the action of the main frame, although of course thelatches must first be tripped. This act-ion will lift the rear ends ofthe 'wings from one inch to fourteen inches if desired, and it is ofgreat convenience in handling the leveler and especially in turningaround. Otherwise and at other timesthe long trailing wings slide'uponthe surface of the earth and prevent the lateral dissipation .of thematerial accumulated by the scrapersconfining it in a channel as it.

were, if there be surplus dirt left in front of the rear scraper afterit has passed. But the greatest utility of the long wings is that theyprevent the comparatively small framework from dropping into unimportantdepressions in the surface, and thereby they serve to assist inaccomplishing the object of a leveler which is to level the ground bycausing its scraping mechanism to move along the same in a substantiallyand practically horizontal path, no matter what the topography may be.If it were not for the presence of these wings when the machineapproached a small rise in the ground its first scraper would pass overit and then its second'and, while perhaps it smoothed the surface, itwould not carry the little; riseinto the next valley; with the additionof these wings, however, the ObJect sought is attained. For elevatmg theframework and both scrapers andalso for pulverizing the ground 1preferably employ a pair of rollers 60, one disposed to either side ofthe central sills 3, through which, and through the side sills 4, theirsupporting shafts 61' are journaled. Each shaft is cranked near itsouter edge as at 62 so that the rollers are offset from the direct lineof the bearings inwhich the shaft is mounted, and hand levers 63 movingover suitable toothed segments 64 control the swing of the crankedshafts in their bearing and hence the rise and fall of the rollerswithin the frame work as best seen in Fig. 10. It is obvious that whenthe rollers are raised, the scrapers and runners rest on the ground;when the rollers are depressed, the framework is raised more or less offthe ground so that the accumulations ithin or forward of it may beallowed to sift through it more or less rapidly to fill up unevennesseswhich may be encountered as the machine progresses over the surface. Ifthe accumulations are forward of the main scraper 1, not only are theyallowed to drop into the uneven places in the surface, but the rollersin passing over them will pulverize or crush the lumps and compact theearth as is desired. I prefer to dispose the rollers separately in thetwo sides or halves of the framework, as. best illustrated in Fig. 1,and provide each with a hand lever 63 so that they may be manipulatedseparately; however, if desired these rollers may be mounted on a singleshaft and then one hand lever only will be needed.

In the preferred form of my machine embodying all the detailshereinbefore set forth, there will be so many levers and pedals to beactuated by the operator (or by two operators if there be two) that theplat form 6 must be of sufficient size to enable him or them to reachthe various leverstherefore it is quite probable that there will be'noseat as above was suggested.

For crushing the clodsor lumps of earth in advance of the scraping orleveling thereof, as is sometimes desirable, I provide the followingconstruction: On the shaft of each roller is a crank, shown at 65 inFig. 11, and the upper end of this crank is connected by a rod 66 with awedge 67 sliding in guides 68 carried by the wing 40 at either side ofthe guide 44 in which the latch 46 moves. The construction is such thatwhen the roller is lowered as suggested above and as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 11, the crank and rod push the wedge to .the rear and itslower or thinner portion comes under the latch 46 so that the latter nolonger holds the wing depressed. The descent of the roller raises thefront scraper 1, which therefore does not touch the ground, and the forward progress of the machine brings the roller first into contact withthe clods or lumps of earth which are crushed, then the rear scraperlevels them off and fills the low places, and still the lower edges ofthe wings trail along on the ground in the manner above described. Whenthis detail of construction is not desired, it is only necessary todisconnect the rod 66 from the crank 65 so that the thicker or higherportionof the latter underlies the latch 46, when the latch will haveits movement and function as described above. Here again I have shownone of these wedges and its actuating mechanism at each side of themachine, although if the roller shafts are rigidly connected andactuated by a single hand lever 63, both cranks 65 and both wedges willbe moved simultaneously.

It is to be understood that while I have shown the complete machine aspossessing the various characteristics and details of constructionsabove set forth, some or several of them may be omitted if a cheapertype of machine is preferred, or some of the details may be replaced byequivalent elements of different constructions. Obviously the sizes,shapes, proportions and materials of parts are not essential to thesuccessful operation thereof.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination with theframework, earth treating devices carried thereby, and longitudinalbeams along each side of said framework; of two wheels mounted tandemalongside each beam, and each wheel having one fiat side, means forlocking the wheels with their flat sides downward, and manuallycontrolled means for tripping the locking means.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination with theframework, earth treating devices carried thereby and longitudinal beamsalong each side of said framework; of two wheels mounted tandemalongside each beam and each wheel having one fiat side, means forlocking the wheels with their flat sides downward, manually controlledmeans for tripping the locking means ofthe front pair of wheels andtripping mechanism for the locking mechanism of the rear pair ofwheelscontrolled by the action of the forward tripping mechanism.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination with theframework, earth treating devices carried thereby, and longitudinalbeams along each side of said framework; of two wheels mounted tandemalongside each beam and each wheel. having one fiat side, independentlocking mechanisms for holding the front pair of: wheels with their fiatsides downward and the rear pair of wheels with their flat sidesdownward, manually controlled means for tripping the front lockingmechanism, hooks on the front wheels, and pivoted trip levers connectedwith said rear locking mechanism and adapted to be actuated by the riseof said hooks as the'forward wheels rotate.

4. In a land leveler. the combination with the framework havinglongitudinally spaced beams along its sides, runners carried'by theouter beams and front and rear scrapers carried by said framework; oftwo wheels mounted tandem'between the beams along each side, and eachwheel having one fiattened side with a spur projecting from itsperiphery forward of said side and a stop yet forward of said spur,locksextending across the beams forward of the wheels and adapted toengage said stops when the flat tened sides of the wheels are beneath,and means for tripping said locks.

5. In a land leveler, the combination with the framework havinglongitudinal runners along its sides, and front and rear scraperscarried by said framework; of two wheels mounted tandem between the pairof beams along each side and each wheel having one flattened side with astop projecting from its periphery forward of said side, locks extendingacross the runners forward of. the wheels and adapted to engage saidstops when the flattened sides of the wheels are beneath, and means fortripping said locks.

6. In a land leveler, the combination with the framework havingrunnersadapted to travel along the ground, the scraping devices betweensaid runners, and long1tudi nal wings projecting to the rear from theframework, of a pair of mutilated wheels mounted tandem on' each runnerand each having one flattened side and a variable radius which is thegreatest just forward of said side, the latter when at the bottom of thewheel standing higher than the shoes of the runners, means for holdingthe wheels in this position, and means for tripping said holding meansto permit the wheels to make one revolution each, for the purpose setforth. 7 I

7. In a land leveler, the combination with the framework having runnersadapted to travel along the ground, the scraping devices between saldrunners, longitudinal wings projecting to the rear from the framework,means on the framework for lifting the rear ends of said wing when therear end of the framework rises, and independent means for manuallyraising the rear ends of said wings, of a pair of mutilated wheelsmounted tandem on each runner and each having one flattened side and avariable radius which is greatest just forward of said side, the latterwhen at the bottom of the wheel standing higher than the shoes of therunners, means for holding the wheels in this position, and means fortripping said holding means to permit the wheels to make one revolutioneach, for the purpose set forth.

8. In a land leveler, the combination with the framework having runnersadapted to travel along the ground, the scraping devices between saidrunners, longitudinal wings projecting to the rear from the framework,means on the'framewor: for lifting the rear ends of said runnerswhen therear end of the framework rises, latches for holding said wingsdepressed, locks for holding said latches in active position, andmanually controlled means for tripping said locks; of a pair ofmutilated wheels mounted tandem on each runner and each having oneflattened side and a variable radius which is greatest just forward ofsaid side, means for holding the latter at'the bottom of the wheel, andmeans for tripping said holding means to permit the wheels to make onerevolution each, for the forth.

9. In a land scraper, the combination with the framework having runnersadapted to travel along the ground, the scraping devices between saidrunners, longitudinal wings projecting to the rear from the framework,means on the framework for lifting the rear ends of said wings when therear end of the framework rises, a guide rising from each side of theframework, a latch pivoted at its outer end and movable within saidguide across the upper edge of one wing and holding its body depressed,and manually controlled means for holding the inner end of said latchlocked in position to engage said wing; of a pair of mutilated wheelsmounted tandem on each runner and purpose set each having one flattenedside, and means for tripping said holding means to permit the wheels tomake one revolution each, for the purpose set forth.

10. In a land leveler, the combination with a substantially rectangularframework having a main scraper across its front end and a rear scraperacross its rear end, and longitudinal runners along its sides; of wingshinged to said main scraper inside said runners and extending past saidrear scraper,

the wing bodies standing on edge and their front ends bcing reduced andoverlying the extremities of said rear scraper, means for holding saidwings depressed with their lower edges in the plane of the lower edgesof said runners and scrapers, and means for raising the rear ends'ofsaid wings when.

said holding means are unlocked.

11. in land leveler, the combination with a substantially rectangularframework havmg a main scraper across its front end and a rear scraperacross its rear end, and longitudinal runners along hinged to said mainscraper inside said runners and extending past said rear scraper, thewing bodies standing on edge and their front ends being reduced andoverlying the extremities of said rear scraper, means for holding saidwings depressed into the plane of said runners and scrapers, means forraising the rear ends of said wings when said holding means areunlocked, a transverse roller disposed within said framework, and meansfor depressing its axle relatively to the framework, for the purpose setforth.

12. In a land leveler, the combination with a substantially rectangularframework having a main scraper across its front end and a rear scraperacross its rear end, wings hinged to said main scraper and extendingpastsaid rear scraper, and latches connected with said framework andoverlying said wings; of a transverse roller disposed within saidframework, means for depressing its axle relatively to the framework,and means for interrupting the engagement of said latch with the wingswhen said roller is depressed.

13. In a land leveler,the combination with a substantially rectangularframework having a main scraper across its front end and a rear scraperacross its rear end, wings hinged to said main scraper and extendingpast said rear scraper, and latches connected with said framework andoverlying said wings; of a transverse roller disposed within saidframework, means for depressing its axle relatively to the framework,guides rising from each wing, a wedge moving through. said guides. andbeneath said latch, a crank on the shaft of the roller, and connectionsbetween said crank and wedge whereby the thin end of the latter is movedunder the latch when the roller is depressed, for the purpose set forth.

14. Inaland leveler, the combination with a substantially rectangularframework having a main scraper across its front end and a rear scraperacross its rear end, wings hinged to said main scraper and extendingpast said rear scraper, and latches connected with said framework andoverlying said wings; of a transverse roller disposed within saidframework, means for depressing its axle relatively to the framework,means its sides; of wings for interrupting the engagement of said myhand in presenceof two subscribing latches wlth the wlngs when saldroller 1s wltnesses.

depressed, locks engaging the free ends of t 7 said latches, andmanually controlled trip JESSE MARTIN B B T 5 mechanism for moving saidlocks irrespec- \Vitnesses:

tive of the action of the rollers. CYRUS B. LAKIIQ In testimony whereofI have hereunto set HAZEL PIXLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissionet of Patents.

Washington, D. G.

